Darwin Écusson : a festive concept store in the heart of Montpellier
It’s under a soft and sunny climate that we get to Montpellier to discover Darwin Écusson. Created two years ago, Darwin is a true concept store with vintage decor, where we can find unique pieces for both men and women. Desiring to bring a cultural touch to their shop, Claude and Frankee have selected magazines, books, and vinyl as their favorites. If the summer heat gets too overwhelming, Darwin also offers a selection of drinks to quench your thirst for : mango nectar, pomegranate juice, tomato juice… Today the shop has become a key location in the city, and organizes regular exhibitions, DJ sets and other parties in a festive atmosphere.
Hi L, Darwin Écusson is barely 2 years old, how did it take off so quickly?
So the very first store opened in Narbonne by my business partner Claude 6 years ago. At the time I was working in real estate, and in textiles but as an employee. I wanted to make my own project, start a business. Claude wanted to open a shop in Montpellier. So we therefore got together to open one in Montpellier called Darwin.
Recently you opened an additional store called Darwin Désrodre. Can you tell me more about this?
Darwin Désordre opened about two months ago. It is a shop that complements Darwin Écusson with a vintage oriented cloakroom. You can also find fruit juices, beers, teas, many magazines, books, vinyl records and furniture here so we can say it’s a concept store. This latest addition which has just been created is to revitalize the street and complete the range we have with Darwin Écusson which has more than the basic, classic ready-made clothes.
How does Montpellier as a city fit in with the concept store dynamics?
Montpellier is a touch complicated. There are some people who are receptive there, but it remains the South of France and it is sometimes a bit complicated to make people understand that maybe it’s better to spend € 50 more on an item of clothing than buying 4 items at H&M.
How do you make your selection here at Darwin? What do you base your purchases upon?
You need to have a good feeling with purchases, so for example we work with Olow which is well developed. We work extensively with Lee who have made a comeback in recent years, they will celebrate their 125 and 126 anniversary soon. They make very beautiful products. We also have quite a lot of Mont Saint Michel, which is a French brand. Customers are increasingly sensitive about what the label is.
What made you want to distribute Olow at Darwin Écusson?
The brand dynamics. The partnerships and everything they do with different artists is something that we like. We also do a lot of events, parties and exhibitions. So we like art, all mixed in, be it photography, painting or music. Olow also fits into the type of brand that doesn’t just make clothes, and this is what we like. In addition to this at the beginning of the brand, Mathieu and Valentin canvassed in Narbonne. They told me they were going to stock their car up and do the rounds of shops. We hit it off with them even if we didn’t work together right away. We started with Olow in Montpellier, it corresponded with the image and we wanted to make quality products, Olow suited our criteria.
You recently met Joan Cornellà in Aix en Provence for his book Mox Nox?
Yes Claude is a big fan and these books are distributed in store. Claude went to see him in Aix at a festival to get his autograph on as many posters as they had.
To crown your 2 year anniversary you received VIDAL BENJAMIN from the label VERSATILE/PARIS, how is the weekend of 25th April looking?
Yes we did and the weekend is looking very good. So the first part of the evening will be here in the street. Usually up to 9pm. It will be very disco and funky. Versatile is a small label that is very funky, a little disco, disco eclectic with some tracks that are completely crazy. It’s very danceable, very sharp. It’s worth discovering.
Is Darwin well plugged in with events?
Yeah. We try to be because it is something we like. It allows us to combine business with pleasure, to party, book artists we appreciate and not just do ready-made clothes. That’s why we do a lot of expositions. We have exposed Christèle Espinasse, an artist from Sète who went on a road trip to San Francisco. Jean Penninck who is an artist from Biarritz. Olivier Cablat who made a series of waterfalls, did the cover of the magazine Polka and is a very good photographer. There was also the Planchette exhibition at Olow, which went very well.
Was there a particular board that made its mark on you?
There were several, but I found the one that Jean Jullien did with the little pig very funny. There were also those with pyrography which were crazy.
Is Darwin Sound System your Label?
It’s Claude who mixes and is often asked to work, it must be about 15 years that he has mixed for now…15 or 20 years. He works with Cheap Kidz who makes a lot of sound so they often play together at events.
Apart from the event side of things, what are your future projects? A possible E.shop?
A website is being set up for Disorder at the moment. We see brands today like Olow that already have their own personal e-shop, so people are more likely to directly type “Olow” if they want an Olow shirt than pass by the shop first. Whereas in the shop, there is furniture, vintage and unique pieces. So it will be more appropriate to have an e-shop for there. It’s not necessarily easy however to set one up when you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s a bloody mess!
What do you think Montpellier’s strength is?
Firstly the city’s strength is the climate and the atmosphere. It’s a big student city and all of this gives it a great dynamic. After these reasons, it has a population that turns and changes a lot because of all the students.
Thank you to Claude and Frankee.
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– P.L –
